Tips to prevent backaches from ruining your day

(NewsUSA) - Activities that require bending and wrenching the lower back may not have affected us in the past years, but they can sneak up quickly. They can easily become painful and, in some cases, keep us from doing the things we enjoy so much.

Besides surgery, there are few treatments that can cure back pain, but there are preventive measures that can be taken to keep the aches and pains from occurring:

- First, you may want to check with a physician to see if you have pre-existing conditions.

- If you sit for extended periods of time at work, interrupt your sitting to get up and move around. Try sending a fax, making a copy or even taking a walk on your lunch break.

- Be certain you have a good sitting position at work or in your car. Your knees should not be higher than your hips. Make a habit of keeping your hips towards the back of your chair.

- If you're gardening or performing any other activity that requires prolonged or repeated bending at the waist, straighten your back often and walk around. Intermittently stretch by performing a standing backward bend by placing your hands in the small of your back and bending backward five to 10 times.

- When lifting an object from the ground, get as close as possible to the object; bend your knees while you keep your back erect as you squat; straighten knees, not your back, as you lift the object upward; pivot your feet and do not twist your back as you move the object to another location; and as you lower the object to the ground or other surface, get as close as you can to the surface.

- Avoid slouching postures immediately following a physical activity while your body cools down. Often this is the time that back pain develops -- not during the physical activity itself.

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